Hockey Arunachal chief dedicates administrator award to state's people

Dr Gumjum Haider, president of Hockey Arunachal, received the Best Sports Administrator in Hockey award at the Annual North East Hockey Award Ceremony in Guwahati on October 19, recognising his work in building the sport from near-scratch in a state long hampered by inadequate infrastructure.

Haider, who founded Hockey Arunachal in 2010 with the motto "To promote Hockey in Arunachal Pradesh," has spent over a decade addressing the twin challenges of limited awareness and missing facilities. His efforts included ensuring the utilisation of the state's first world-class hockey turf at Sangay Lhaden Sports Academy in Chimpu—a facility that marked a turning point for the sport's development in Arunachal Pradesh.

The award cited his "discipline leadership and clean administration." Haider, re-elected unopposed in August 2023 for another four-year term, has a background in student activism as former general secretary of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union and the North East Students' Organization. He later served as State Information Commissioner.

Accepting the honor at Manipur Bhawan, Haider said, "This award is not mine alone; it belongs to the resilient and dedicated people of Arunachal Pradesh." He added that the state would "continue to climb, believing in that beautiful thought that the journey of a thousand goals begins with a single, disciplined step."

The ceremony also honored Gyanendra Ningombam, former Hockey India president, as Sports Architect of North East for his contributions to the sport's growth in Manipur and across the region. Tapan Das, president of Hockey Assam, was named Best Hockey Promoter of Northeast India.

Representatives from six northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tripura—attended the event, which highlighted increasing coordination among state hockey bodies in the region.